Dir: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Michael Vartan, Callum Blue
Synopsis: Cataleya (Saldana) is on a vendetta after witnessing the deaths of her parents at age nine in her home country of Colombia. Relocating to Chicago, she becomes a top assassin in a bid to get revenge on the man who killed her family.
Verdict: This is another example of a film aimed at blokes, with scantily clad girls, lots of guns and a sprinkling of action. Zoe Saldana shows that she is a talented actress, but her portrayal of Catelya seems to bear similarities to Neytiri in Avatar. She does have more range, as we've seen in Death at a Funeral and Stark Trek but, unfortunately, it doesn't come through that much in this film.
It also seems that the film has been written to show off the strength, dexterity and flexibility of Saldana as she snakes her way through vents all in a very sexual way, all while wearing very tight clothes (or not many clothes at all) that are apparently ideal for the assassin business.
This plot also seems a bit over-worked of late; the revenge story spanning over many years. This said, the fact that Megaton and writer Luc Besson have written a story around a female character gives the film some weight (highlighted when FBI officer Ross (Lennie James) says 'We're not looking for a woman: it's not possible'. Who'd have thought a woman could be an assassin right?).
Gratuitous action sequences kick off the film, with a gun battle swiftly followed by a free-running chase sequence through a favella in Colombia (Fast Five or Incredible Hulk anyone?) which see's a not-too-conivincing young Cateleya escape to America to begin her life of assassin training. The theme runs throughout the film, with plenty of gun firing and explosions towards the end of the movie.
Of course, there is the statutory love story running parallel to the main bang-bang plot, with the unknowing Danny (Vartan) being both the man who brings her out of her shell, as well as bringing a whole heap of problems to her just because he loves her.
If you're looking for a good couple of hours of sit back, and chill out after a hard day or week, this is definitely a good film to see with the lads, but probably not the best for date night.
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